Whether you’re a budding fashion journalist, a retail manager, or just a plain ol’ style enthusiast, you’ll find out soon enough that building up a strong fashion vocabulary is essential towards future (and present) success in the biz.

Luckily for you, the most important industry terms — brought to you straight from the professionals at Vogue et al. — are easy to grasp and here for the learning. 

For an introductory look at style-related terminology, keep reading!

Table of Contents

Basic – Who What Wear

From “Fashion Terms Decoded” by Nicole Kliest.

“Ready-to-wear: Clothing that is factory-produced in standard sizes.”

“Haute Couture: The business of designing and selling custom-made clothes for private customers.”

*I like to think of Haute Couture as Coco Chanel tailoring her designs for a fabulously wealthy clientele and Ready-to-wear (or RTW) as a wacky Forever 21 tee emblazoned with the words “Coco Chanel is my spirit animal.” Kind of the same thing—but not really at all.

“Capsule Collection: An edited collection of interchangeable clothing pieces.”

“Lookbook: A compilation of images, showcasing a designer’s upcoming collection.”

“Knife Pleat: Tight pleats that are usually situated 1-inch apart.” (Skirt from Nordstrom.)

“Seersucker: Lightweight striped or checkered fabric used to make spring and summer clothing.” (Blazer from Macy’s.)

Intermediate – Man Repeller

From “17 Fashion Terms to Know” by Amelia Diamond.

“Yoke: A panel of fabric that goes across the shoulders.”

“Bias cut: The fabric has been cut to fall diagonally as opposed to straight up-and-down, like a sheath.”

“A-line: They’re shaped like the letter A with the top cut off.” (Dress from Revolve.)